'Game of Thrones' Star Says Now Is the "Perfect Time" to End

Winter is passing. The end of HBO’s Game of Thrones is almost here (relatively speaking), and one of the show’s biggest stars is already pouring one out.

In an interview with Variety at the Sundance Film Festival, actor Peter Dinklage said “It’s time” on the subject of the hit show’s finale. “Storywise, not just for all our lives,” he said. “It’s the perfect time to end it. Sometimes shows stay on a little too long, the jumping-the-shark thing.”

Since Game of Thrones premiered in 2011, Dinklage starred in the HBO mega-drama as Tyrion Lannister, who has risen and fallen (and risen again) from drunk aristocrat to fugitive to calculated political advisor. Currently, Tyrion serves as Hand to Queen Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), who has just aligned herself with Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), unaware of their shared family lineage.

An experienced character actor before he rose to fame in Game of Thrones — you may have seen Dinklage before in shows like Nip/Tuck, or in the cult Christmas comedy Elf — Dinklage added that the end of the series will be “bittersweet.” Certainly the millions of Game of Thrones fans invested in the world of Westeros will feel the same way when the show airs its finale in 2019.

To the end.

“It’s always the sad part of our business, because you get pockets of great people for short amounts of time and then you have to move on and it’s always heartbreaking,” Dinklage said. “Especially when you’ve spent more than a couple months with people.”

Thankfully, there is a long wait before it’s really time to say goodbye. During the Sundance interview, Dinklage said production on the final season was only about halfway through, and it won’t air until next year. “It’s the final season, and it’s a long one so we’re taking our time,” he added.